Economic Stimulus Nonsense by Scott McPherson July 1, 2009 When times are great — maybe especially when times are great — most people don’t think about economics. At least, if there’s any thinking going on at all, it’s not exactly clear-headed thinking. But when times take a turn for the worse, people forget about making any kind of sense at all. It would be far better if they ...
The Horror of Gun Control in Mumbai by Benedict D. LaRosa July 1, 2009 As Ronald Reagan would say, “Here we go again!” How many Rwanda, Columbine, Virginia Tech, Warsaw Ghetto, post-office, and other shootings do people have to endure before they face reality? How long does it take to learn a simple lesson: unarmed people are more vulnerable to terrorists, criminals, and crazed ...
Robbery and the Welfare State by George Leef July 1, 2009 Stealing from Each Other: How the Welfare State Robs Americans of Money and Spirit by Edgar K. Browning (Praeger, 2008); 226 pages. In the Sherlock Holmes story “Silver Blaze,” the key to Holmes’s solution of the case rested on something that didn’t happen — the dog that didn’t bark in ...
Guantánamo: Charge or Release Prisoners, Say No To Indefinite Detention by Andy Worthington June 30, 2009 So what’s happening now? According to a joint Washington Post/ProPublica article on Friday, “The Obama administration, fearing a battle with Congress that could stall plans to close Guantánamo, has drafted an executive order that would reassert presidential authority to incarcerate terrorism suspects indefinitely,” according to “three senior government officials.” The administration moved swiftly to refute the story, with the Justice ...
Obama the Health-Care Reformer Should Grow Up by Sheldon Richman June 29, 2009 Barack Obama insists he does not want the government to run the medical system. He insists that he wants only to fix what’s broken while leaving what works intact. Taking him at his word, this is typical of Obama. His desires are a primary, things that can be achieved if only we want them badly enough. ...
Celebrate Torture Day by Punishing Torturers by James Bovard June 23, 2009 Since 1997, every June 26 has been formally recognized as the International Day of Support for Victims of Torture. Political leaders around the globe take the occasion to proclaim their opposition to barbarism. On June 26, 2003, President George W. Bush proudly declared: “The United States is committed to the worldwide elimination of torture, and ...
The Lies Told about the Saudi Hunger Striker Released from Guantánamo by Andy Worthington June 22, 2009 As part of a series of recent releases from Guantánamo, three Saudi prisoners were repatriated, along with Guantánamo’s youngest prisoner, an Iraqi refugee, and four Uighurs who were sent to Bermuda. As I explained in a recent article, “Empty Evidence: The Stories Of The Saudis Released From Guantánamo,” all three men had been ...
Shut Up about Iran by Sheldon Richman June 19, 2009 Here’s some advice for Barack Obama, John McCain, and any other U.S. politician who feels the urge to issue a declaration about the election in Iran: Shut up. True, Obama has said he does not wish to interfere in the Iranian election. Others, such John “Bomb Bomb Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran” McCain, ...
The Pentagon’s Favorite Demon by Carlton Meyer June 18, 2009 In 1991, as pressure was mounting in the U.S. Congress to cut the Cold War-era military budget, Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staffs General Colin Powell said: “I’m running out of demons. I’m running out of villains. I’m down to Castro and Kim Il Sung.” North ...
The Attack on Economic Liberty by Jacob G. Hornberger June 17, 2009 Dear Friend of Freedom: I am writing to ask you to help us fund a special project that involves reprinting in booklet form an 11-part essay entitled Economic Liberty and the Constitution, which I wrote for our monthly journal, Freedom Daily, in 2003. This essay is a direct, frontal assault on the socialism, interventionism, and fiat-money ...
The Last Iraqi in Guantánamo, Cleared Six Years Ago, Returns Home by Andy Worthington June 15, 2009 Last Thursday, while all eyes were focused on the arrival of four Uighurs from Guantánamo on Bermuda’s balmy shores — and while a few other commentators, myself included, noted that Guantánamo’s youngest prisoner, Mohammed El-Gharani, had been released to his family’s home country of Chad — only one journalist, James Warren of the Atlantic, noticed that ...
The Latest Torture Cover-Up Scam by James Bovard June 10, 2009 The Obama administration appears increasingly devoted to covering up the worst crimes of the Bush era. On Monday, CIA chief Leon Panetta formally objected to federal judge Alvin Hellerstein, who was considering releasing detailed information on 92 videotaped CIA torture sessions of detainees. Panetta asserted that releasing the written information “could be expected to result ...